How to Support Your Local College!

Ray Rice

Under Question 4 in the Nov. 6 election, the University of Maine at Presque Isle would receive $4.5 million, all of which is specifically designated for expanding or developing programs that meet our state and nation’s workforce needs and provide you with competitive jobs and salaries for years to come. These infrastructure improvements will include major renovations in both Wieden and Folsom halls, adding classroom, lab and clinical spaces that will increase our enrollments in the Nursing program we’re partnering with UMFK to bring to UMPI, as well as our Medical Lab Technology, Physical Therapist Assistant and Exercise Science programs. In addition, this funding will complement plans already in motion for the construction of the research-grade Zillman Family Greenhouse, a cornerstone of our new Agricultural Science program. All of this will allow us to double the number of students we can enroll in these and future programs.

We have worked hard here at UMPI to make a college education affordable to all. This includes our Free For Four program, guaranteeing no out-of-pocket tuition and fee expenses to eligible Maine families, as well as our For Maine Families awards and our scholarships and highly competitive tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students. In fact, Student Loan Hero and U.S. News & World Report rank UMPI as the most affordable four-year college in Maine and New England, both in terms of student debt load upon graduation and tuition/fees while in attendance. Question 4 will ensure that we can develop the programs you want and that we will provide the skills and experiences you need for immediate employment in healthcare, agriculture and other critical workforce areas—all at the most affordable possible cost to you.

Voting is among our most cherished rights of citizenship. As university community members, you have the right to vote or not, and if you do, to vote however you wish. Your voting choices will in no way affect your opportunities here at UMPI. But I hope that you’ll agree with me that voting Yes on Question 4 on Nov. 6 isn’t just about UMPI—it’s about all of us.

Owls of UMPI

Social media and networking can be alternately empowering and maddening for many of us, and that experience likely depends upon the day or the topic du jour in the media and how our own experiences resonate with those topics.

But one absolutely amazing community page on Facebook is “Owls of UMPI,” which was developed and is maintained entirely by UMPI students. The emotions, contemplations, memories and testimonies on display are simply wonderful, as UMPI students talk about what matters to them most, who or what has most inspired them and the most important aspects of their lives. And the photography is equally as compelling—a perfect complement to the words themselves.

Great stuff. And if you’re ever having a difficult day, reading them is guaranteed to inspire and reward.

Athletics!

And, finally, my congratulations to everyone who has made this an exciting early fall for UMPI athletics. Highlights range from amazing cross country meets (and individual achievements), to nail-biting soccer matches, to simply feel-good moments of great players getting wins that they so richly have earned (I’m thinking of women’s soccer beating Unity 3-1 this past weekend). Only a few weeks under our belt in the NAC Conference, and it’s getting commonplace to see one of our athletes honored as Player or Rookie of the Week. Wow.